


The Death of Pan

by schrijverr



Category: The Mechanisms (Band), Ulysses Dies at Dawn - The Mechanisms (Album)
Genre: Acheron theory, Gen, Introspection, Nature, The City, UDAD, also fae/faer pronouns for Pan, also there will be discussions about the Acheron and Sphinx in this fic, and i get forest vibes from them, because they are cool and valid, i thought it be interesting, it is a story, kind of, since Pan dies so how would that play out, so if that freaks you out be warned, theory, this is hard to tag, what affects would it have, which I found fitting, why would Pan be able to die, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29031498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schrijverr/pseuds/schrijverr
Summary: How the Olympian Pan dies and the effect faer death has on The City.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	The Death of Pan

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find this work on my tumblr, which is @schrijverr as well. Hope you pop in and say hi, cause I'd love to talk to y'all! :D
> 
> I also recently got to know more people who use fae/faer pronouns so this was also for me to practice using them, if I messed up anywhere and you have the mental capacity to point it out, then that would be lovely, you are of course not obliged <3

The key to immortality is taking the life-force of someone else. In order to live forever, you have to take that what another needs most. You take the air they breathe, the water flowing through their veins, the wisdom in their minds, the battles they fought or the love they carried.

It is not easy or pleasant to take those things from someone, but the Olympians had managed to figure out the methodology, horrifying as it may be.

When they had banded together to figure out the secret, they had agreed to split their findings equally, so it came to pass that all could choose one piece to live off. Zeus choose the air, Poseidon the water, Athena the wisdom, Ares the battles, Aphrodite the love and so on.

There was one person by the name of Pan, who chose the nature people cared for as the fuel for faer eternal life.

As fae reasoned, people lived of the little things in life. They loved to see things grow and nature gave them happiness. If fae was going to live off others, fae was going to live of their love for the things around them.

Some of the others Olypians found faer soft and naive, but they respected faer pick, to each their own.

And so time went on, The City grew, covering the planet as the population rose to meet it. It swallowed the water in it’s piping and bit by bit nature fell victim to the metals hunger.

Then the day came to refuel their immortality again as they did every few years. The Olympians gathered to preform their ritual of absorption to rejuvenate themselves. As they stood there the signs of age disappeared with the screams of dead mouths until all were young once more.

All but one.

Pan was the only one not completely back to faer old self. Fae inspected faerself with curiosity, before looking up and calmly saying: “I don’t think that worked entirely.”

Angry Zeus turned to Hecate, who preformed the ritual, and bellowed: “What is this supposed to mean?”

Hecate went through her notes with a frown. She found something and winced before looking at Pan apologetically and saying: “It seems that your source is disappearing and with that your immortality.”

“But Demeters life-force seems to be sustainable.” Pan pointed out in a questioning tone.

“People still farm that is true, but only for food. There is less love in the way they care for the nature around them.” Hecate explained, “You can only take what is there. I mean, I could try and take a bit from the people that are currently alive.”

“Try it.” Zeus ordered before Pan could say anything.

Fae took it in stride and let Hecate start again, ignoring the fearful looks faer was getting. It would be fine, fae trusted in Hecate and fae had peace with whatever happened. Fae had never been fully comfortable with where faer eternal life came from anyway.

At the end Pan was the young dashing person fae’d always been and all the Olympians breathed out a sigh of relief. The very next day there were reports of a new disease, named the Sphinx.

It took Pan only two more rituals to make the connection between the new disease and the new way to get enough life-force to remain faerself. Pan felt sick to faer stomach. Fae could take getting faer life from the dead, but fae wasn’t prepared to take the living for it.

Fae went to Zeus and Hecate, begging them to stop this new ritual. They did not get it, but when fae threatened to go to the public with it, they allowed faer to only get life-force from the dead like the others.

Most were horrified to see their friend, their family through millennia, start to fade away. However, Pan was determined that this was for the best. 

While faer friends remained young, fae grew older. The more time passed, the more nature has disappeared, and less of the people who died had cared for it. They had to face it, fae was dying along with nature.

Demeter tried to set up a garden for children that her daughter helped care for half of the year, but most had forgotten by the time they died and no adults could be freed from the machine that was The City.

It was too late for Pan.

Not that fae minded. The world wasn’t the same anymore and fae had never felt at home between the metal. Fae loved nature and nature was gone. Pan had made peace with faer demise.

On one smog filled morning, Pan died. One of faer followers ran through the streets, though not many remembered Pan after fae had mostly disappeared out of the public eye when fae had started to decline in age and health many decades ago.

Athena also quickly spun a tale to cover up and distract from the demise of Pan and with faers death, so did the last bit of nature disappear, save a lone tree far beneath.

The Olympians had been deeply shaken to their core with Pans death and, despite how against it fae had been, they turned to the living people to ensure faer faith wouldn't befall them. Sphinx cases started to rise, but the Olympians did not care, for they needed it for themselves, just in case the dead wouldn't be enough.

Once a doctor came, seeking answers he already knew, but couldn't believe. He tried to make them see what they already knew and did not care for.

What did the life of some puny mortal mean to them, when those lives continuing could be the thing that killed them? It was a price they were willing to pay, a price they had paid before and they would pay again.

The Olympians were not invincible, but they would not end. They could not accept the circle of life like Pan had, they would not die like faer.

Pan died with nature and with faer died the caring side of the Olympians, for how can one care about life when there is no one to nurture it?

**Author's Note:**

> Does this match fully with canon? No, probably not. But it is pretty cool and I like the concept and just theorizing about the Acheron.
> 
> Theory time AKA what premises this fic was built on:  
> The dead, before they are put into the Acheron, are used for the ritual wherein the Olypians suck these different life-forces out of them, then the brains are put into the underworld to run The City with what is left of them. This is why those who get re-bodied come out a bit weird. The more there is of one thing, the less people are necessary to sustain them, hence why Zeus can be more powerful because everyone breathes air, but not everyone farms for example. When they suck those things out of the living, they suck their life-force into their own, causing them to age quickly. So, anyway that is my theory :D
> 
> Please leave a comment, they mean the world to me and I'd love to hear what you think about the Acheron and what your theories are or what you thought of mine :D


End file.
